Managing a Digital Classroom: The Future of Classroom Setup.

When teaching in a fully digital classroom it is important to maintain focus on tasks. When screens come into play it is hard to manage everyone and keep them all on task, however, advances in technology now allow for teachers to see what students are doing on their computer screens. From your desk you can see what is on every student's screen and are able to maintain some focus. No longer can you visually see a student on task instead you need to check. This become a problem because current classrooms are not set out for the quality of digital technology that is available. In a standard classroom the power sources are based around the edge of the classroom because of this students move away from desks and spent large amounts of time leaning against walls around the edge of the room. Other reasons for spending time sitting on the floor was to collaborate and work in a space that allowed for free discussion and communication. Lets look at is visually.

This is a classroom I have previously taught in. The pink markings are common areas where students were working while using devices. There was one common table space where students worked together and it was near enough to power plugs that it functioned well, however, the remaining space was not conducive.

This second image was a layout that I discussed with the classroom teacher as a functional space. The layout allows for group work with the green dots signalling power plugs either in the floor or hanging from the roof. There would be a need for more storage as the students would have no set seat and no desk space, however, there is still space for suitable storage.

In the 21st Century classroom there is a gap between the technological level and the ability to create a pedagogical functional space. This is progressing through the development of Modern Learning Environments (MLE) and to some extend a digital classroom is a MLE style of its own. Most important in any of these classrooms is trust and a mutually agreed contract including legal, the schools and own views on behaviour while using technology. It's time to look beyond the constraints of four walls and towards the future of education which is a world where technology blends into the everyday classroom like it does in the life of any adult.